Ventilated boot



April 1964' GQL. BURLISON ETAL VENTILATED BOOT Filed March 14, 1961Garry L. Burl/son James P. .Savolr lNVENIbRs United States Patent3,128,566 VENTILATED BOOT Garry L. Burlison, P.0. Box 594, and James P.Savok, P.O. Box 456, both of Nome, Alaska Filed Mar. 14, 1961, Ser. No.95,555 1 Claim. (Cl. 363) The present invention generally relates to ashoe or boot construction having a novel structural arrangement whichwill enable air to be circulated through the interior of the boot andespecially the toe area thereof for ventilating the boot and keeping thefeet in a dry and cool condition.

Perspiration of the feet is a considerable problem when wearing bootssuch as insulated boots which have a layer of insulation on the innersurface thereof and usually a water-proof covering on the exteriorsurface or at least an exterior covering which is air impervious. Inorder to combat excessive perspiration of the feet, the presentinvention incorporates an air pump having inlet means at the top of theboot together with discharge means for discharging air under the toearea or region of the foot together with means venting the toe area ofthe boot to the atmosphere.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide aventilated boot having an air pump incorporated therein which will beoperated during the normal walking operation wherein sequentialapplication and release of pressure is applied to the heel region, thearch area and the toe area of a boot.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide aventilated boot which is simple in construction, easy to use, effectivein operation and generally inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the boot illustrating in dotted linesthe various passageways incorporated into the insulation material;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view of the boot illustrating theconstruction thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a detailed sectional view illustrating the flat type checkvalve employed in the air inlet for the air pump.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generallydesignates the ventilated boot of the present invention which includesthe usual upper 12 attached to a sole 14 in any suitable manner.Interiorly of the upper, there is a layer of insulation material 16which also extends over the sole 14 and this portion of the insulationis designated by numeral 18. The upper is provided with the usual slit'20, eyelets 22, lacing 24 and tongue 26- all of which cooperate in theusual manner of a shoe or boot. The particular construction of the bootmay vary and the present invention may be employed with various types ofshoes, boots and the like.

Combined with the conventional boot structure is an air pump generallydesignated by numeral 28 which includes a hollow cavity 30 in the heelportion of the insulation 18. Communicating with the cavity 30 is aplurality of air inlet passageways 3-2 having the upper ends thereofopen to the atmosphere at the top edge of the upper 12. The lower endsof the passageways 32 communicate with the cavity 30 and each isprovided with a resilient flap valve 34 which permits air to passintothe cavity 30 from the passageway 32 but prevents egress of air fromthe cavity 30 back into the passageway.

Extending forwardly from the front of the cavity 30 is a passageway 36,the forward end of which is provided with laterally extending branches.38 which terminate in outlet openings 40 at the top surface of theinsulation 18 whereby air will be discharged under the toe region of apersons foot.

The portion of the insulation 16 above the toe region is provided with aplurality of openings 42 communicating with passageways 44interconnecting the openings 42 and a single passageway '46 whichextends upwardly along the upper 12 and then downwardly to a dischargeport or opening '48 for discharge of hot humid air.

The air pump 28 will be operated during the normal walking operationsince weight placed on the heel portion will collapse the cavity 30.Inasmuch as the flap valves 34- will close, any air in the cavity 30'will be forced out through the passageway 36, branches 38 and openings40 and the air within the interior of the toe portion of the shoe willbe forced out through the openings 42, passageway 44 and passageway 46and discharge opening 48. As the weight of the person moves forwardduring the normal walking operation, the weight will be placed on theinsulation above the point of communication between the passageway 66and the cavity 30 thus closing the passageway 36 so that air cannotreturn back into the cavity 30 from the passageway 36. When this occursand further procedure is made in the walking step, all weight is removedfrom the cavity 30 whereupon the resilient material from which theinsulation 18 is constructed will cause the cavity 30 to return to anormal position thus drawing in fresh air down through the inletpassageways 32, through the flap valves 34 and into the cavity .30.Thus, during the normal walking operation, air will be circulatedthrough the boot with means for discharging of the air after it hasevaporated perspiration and cooled the interior of the boot.

The intake air will be taken at the upper end of the boot thus assuringthat nowater or other foreign material will pass into the interior ofthe boot through the intake opening. There also is a very importantreason for having the outlet opening '48 disposed interiorly of the bootwhich as shown in FIGURE 1 is for the right boot. This orientationenables the outlet which is disposed by the arch of the foot to bekicked with the opposite foot or shoe thus enabling frost, ice or thelike to be kicked off of the outlet thereby preventing the outlet frombecoming clogged. This is especially desirable since the outlet willhave warm humid air discharged therefrom which would tend to becomefrozen in areas having extremely low temperatures. The air pump orbreather will keep the feet and socks relatively dry even when Wearinginsulated boots which normally will cause excess perspiration. Thebreather or air pump is preferably constructed of rubber material havingthe necessary wear qualities and strength requirements for use in a bootof this nature so that the boot will be long lasting and will operatedependably.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A ventilated boot comprising in combination, a sole, an upper attachedto said sole, and a liner of insulating material contained within saidupper and covering said sole, said liner being spaced above the sole inthe heel portion of the boot to provide an air chamber therebetween,

a said chamber being collapsible upon application of weight to the heelportion of the liner, said liner being provided within the thicknessthereof with an air inlet passage communicating with said chamber at oneend thereof and having its other end open to the atmosphere at the upperedge of the liner, the sole covering portions of the liner beingprovided with an air delivery passage extending forwardly from saidchamber and terminating in an opening communicating with the interior ofthe liner in the toe portion of the boot, said liner also being providedwith an air outlet passage communicating at one end thereof 'With theinterior of the liner in the top of the toe portion of the boot andhaving its other end open to the atmosphere at a point later-ally on theinside of the boot adjacent the sole, and a flap valve provided in saidchamber for said air inlet passage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS418,966 Welander Jan. 7, 1890 426,495 tE-alkner Apr. 29, 1890 702,600Slater June 17, 1902 906,061 Nolen Dec. 8, 1908 1,213,941 Patrick Jan.30, 1917 '1,417,517 Hajek May 30, 1922 1,809,323 Williams June 19, 19312,441,879 Gantt May 118, 1949 2,741,038 Eliassen Apr. 10, 1956

